I want to Dance with somebody
by JenDuffy
Summary: When an under-age mermaid is brought onto land she has no choice but to turn into a human. Because she is under-age she can't change back into a mermaid for thirty days. Nixie learns all about the human world, love and betrayal during her stay on land. Will she want to go back home?
1. Chapter 1

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.1**

Day one:

I woke up with my head out of water. I was breathing deeply through my nose. That was the first thing I noticed that was wrong. The second was that a human was standing over me. I blinked a few times in the moist air. The human had an oval shaped face with big blue eyes and curly blond hair hanging around it. Her nose was small and pointed and her lips were pressed in a thin line. She looked around the same age as me. I took an immediate dislike to her, after all she was a human.

"Finally you're awake." Said the human in that strange accent people on land had. "Where is the prince of the merpeople?"

I stayed quiet and looked down at myself. I was in a sort of white box filled with water. The sides were smooth but hard, almost like rock. I had seen this on the shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean. It is said that people wash themselves in it. My red tail couldn't fit in it fully; so my fins were hanging out the side of the box. My turquoise hair was hanging in waves over my orange sea shells that were coveringmy breasts. My hair was beginning to dry at the roots. The ends were still wet, so the golden in my hair was fading and was barely visible.

"Answer me!" The human shrieked. I cringed at the high pitched sound. She reached into the box I moved my tail out the other side out of her reach. She pulled something out from the bottom of the box and set it on the windowsill. The box made a gurgling sound and the water level began to fall. The water was being drained.

"Let's see how long you last without water, now tell me where the prince of the merpeople is." She said with a sly smile on her face.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked wondering why she was looking for my brother. He never comes up to the surface he couldn't have  
done anything.

"I am going to marry him." She announced. I laughed at this; my brother was already married, happily in fact, with three beautiful children.

"Don't laugh at me. I will be a royal."

"I will never tell you." I spat.

She looked down at me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled it up to have a look at it. I tried to pull away but I couldn't get a grip in this slippery box. Her eyes widened when she saw the mark on my wrist. It was a trident. The symbol that meant I was of royal blood and eligible to hold the trident and rule the sea. Only direct descendants were born with the symbol on their wrist. She dropped my wrist. I held it to my chest.

"If I can't marry a prince then my brother will marry a princess." She said with a grin on her face. She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The water had now all drained from the box. My tail was beginning to dry up. I decided I needed to get out of there and there was only one way to do that; I began to change my tail into legs. I hoped I wouldn't regret this.

It began with a tingling at the bottom of my fin that worked its way up to my hips. I watched as my beautiful shiny red tale became pale and split down the middle. As my tail separated it turned into skin and feet formed at the base. I hadn't changed into a human in a long time.

I stood up shakily and stepped out of the box carefully. There was a towel on the ground and another hanging off a hook on the wall. I dried my feet before grabbing the other towel and wrapping it around my naked body. I dried myself quickly but then heard voices outside the door, I was too slow. I wrapped the towel around my waist.

The door opened and the human girl pulled another human into the room by his arm. This human was male. He was tall with broad shoulders and his skin had a golden-brown tint to it. Unlike the human girl he had dark brown hair and sea green eyes which widened when he laid eyes on me. His curvaceous lips were full with a pink tinge to them. His bottom lip dropped as his eyes widened. He turned around quickly, cheeks reddening. He looked strangely familiar.

"Hanna why is there a strange naked woman in our bathroom?" The male asked.

"She is a mermaid princess. You have to marry her. Then our family will be royalty. We will be what connects the sea to the land, we will be famous." Hanna squealed with delight.

"A mermaid?" He asked, turning around with curiosity. I pulled at the towel and made sure it was covering my body. "She looks pretty human to me."

"She was a mermaid a few minutes ago. She must have changed. Also look at this. It's the mark that the royal merpeople are born with." She grabbed my wrist again and pulled me roughly towards the man. She twisted it around and held it up to him. He took it and held it lightly. His eyes widened again. I pulled my wrist from his grasp, it came away easier than expected and I tumbled backwards. He grabbed me before I fell. The towel began to slip but I caught it. He let go and I stepped away from them quickly. He frowned.

"You scared her; don't be so harsh with her. She may not be human but she is still a woman." He said to Hanna. Then to me he said "What's your name? Are you eighteen yet?"

"Nixie, no not yet." I replied and his frowned deepened. He knew I was stuck here for thirty days. If I was over eighteen I could change into a human at will but I wouldn't be eighteen for another thirty days. So I had exactly thirty days until I could turn back into a mermaid and until my eighteenth birthday. My birthday was going to be a grand event that the whole ocean would know about. The arrangements were already taking place. If my family doesn't hear from me in a few days there will be search parties everywhere looking for me.

"Hanna you did this, she is your responsibility now, you will take care of her. First get her some clothes. Bring her down for dinner in an hour." He said before leaving the room. He glanced back at me as he went out of the door.

Hanna beckoned me to follow her out the door and down the hall. I followed her quietly. The hall was lined with windows, as I walked past them I looked out and saw mountains. I wondered where the sea was. Hanna opened a door and held it open for me. I looked inside and saw a strange rectangle shaped bed, a set of wooden drawers and a dressing table with a stool. Across the room was a window and outside the window down the hill was the glistening blue sea. I ran across to the window and clutched onto the windowsill as I gazed out to the deep blue sea with longing.

"I'll see if I can find you some clothes. Wait here." I heard the door closing and footsteps in the hall. I didn't even turn around. I was mesmerised by the ocean; my home, my family, my love, my everything. I didn't know what I was without it. How was I going to last a month on land alone? I heard the door open and close behind me. I tore my gaze from the ocean and turned around.

Hanna was holding up a red dress, a long gown with sleeves and a square neck. It was a beautiful dress made of soft material. She set it on the bed and laid out some under garments. She asked if I needed any help. I shook my head, I had put dresses on before, I knew how. She turned around and I got dressed quickly, leaving my sea shells on. She then sat me on the stool and brushed my hair. It dried fast and hung down my back in turquoise waves. She put red lipstick on my lips; it was heavier than the octopus ink we use on our lips in the ocean. She took a long look at me and then smiled.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I probably should have released you from that net instead of bring you back to the house but it's for good reason. My brother will fall in love with you don't worry.

"I don't want him to fall in love with me. I want to go home." I replied.

"Then tell me where the prince is? It's you or him."

"He is married." I said. Her face fell.

"Look you have to stay here for thirty days anyway because you changed into a human so let's just see what happens. You might change your mind." I just shook my head. How could a mermaid fall in love with a human? It was stupid they could never be together. One lives on land and the other in the sea. It was impossible, at least that is what my parents told me after they found out I was watching a human dance on the beach with his friends. He was a few years older than me with a beautiful face with green eyes and dark brown hair. He saw me watching and swam over and with a friendly smile he asked if I wanted to join them, I said yes but before I could join them my sister pulled me back into the depts of the sea. She told my parents and I never saw him again. I told my parents that I just wanted to dance with somebody and since then they filled my head with the horrors of the world on land. I was taught to hate humans epically the ones with friendly smiles, they are the ones that will turn on you. I never knew what to believe.

Hanna left the room with a promise to come get me before dinner. I went and sat on the bed. It was comfy but everything was so dry it was strange. It was different to move in the air but I was getting used to it. I lay down and closed my eyes. I was where I wanted to be seven years ago why wasn't I happy? I was filled with so much distrust now that I didn't know who to trust or how to act. Life was so much easier when I was ten.

I sat up and walked over to the window again. I pulled the stool over to the window. I opened it and stuck my head out, breathing in the salty sea air. Seagulls cawed as they flew over the water and I remembered how I tried to catch them as they swooped low and tried to steal fish from my ocean. I caught a few but I hadn't the heart to punish it and I always ended up letting it go.

After a while there was a knock on the door. Hanna stepped inside and told me dinner was ready. I reluctantly left my seat by the window and I followed her down the hall and into a room with a long dark wood table. Zale was sitting at the far end of the table at the top. He looked up when we came in. His mouth hung slightly open for a second before closed it. He stood up and held out a chair for me. I sat down. He sat back down and so did Hanna.

A small plump man with a kind round face came into the room with a jug of water, he filled each of our glasses before leaving the room again. I gulped down my water and refilled my glass. Hanna and Zale were both watching me.

"Aren't you a princess?" Hanna asked.

"Yes."

"Do princess in the sea refill their own water glass?"

"My siblings don't but I like to do things for myself."

They both gave me an odd look.

"Our parents are away for a week to visit our relatives in the next town over. I will explain the situation to them when they get back but for now you can stay in the room Hanna brought you to. It was our elder sisters but she is married and lives with her husband so the room is free." Zale explained.

I nodded as the small man came back into the room and set plates full of food in front of us. It was fish with some yellow mushy stuff and lots of land vegetables. The fish tasted delicious and I dug in. I hadn't realised how hungry I was. I ate in silence while Hanna and Zale chatted away.

I found myself looking at Zale. Observing the curve of his jaw and the way his lips moved as he formed his words. I kept realising I was looking at him and had to look away again. He caught me looking and I felt my face heat up as I looked away. What was wrong with me?

"My wedding is in about a month. You should stay for it. It will be a big celebration. What do you think?" Zale said to me after we had finished dinner.

He was engaged. I felt a strange feeling when he said that. I forced a smile on my face and said "When is it?"

"On the 26th of next month. Exactly thirty days. It is on the day you can change back but maybe you would like to stay for the celebration." He said with a friendly smile. One of those smiles I was told not to trust.

"That is if you end up getting married to Elena." Hanna said. Zale looked over at her and rolled his eyes. He sighed and sat back in his chair.

"I don't know I have to get home as soon as I can."

"Well maybe you will change your mind. Think about it anyway."

I told him I would think about it and went back to my room. I lay on the bed in sorrow. I felt very upset; I must have been missing my family. There was no other explanation for it. I got up and took off my dress. I left my under garments on, a vest and culottes. They were very comfy. I got under the covers and fell asleep within ten minutes. That was the end of my first day on land. Only twenty nine more to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.2**

Day two:

I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was dancing on the beach with a man with green eyes and dark brown hair. It was the boy that I watched on the beach seven years ago but in my dream he was older. I tried to remember what he looked like but after five minutes I gave up snuggled deeper into the covers and closed my eyes.

My eyes had only closed for a few seconds when someone knocked on the door and came in. I heard the curtains being pulled back. I opened my eyes and immediately closed them again. The room was too bright; I rolled over, away from the window.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead." A voice said brightly. I pulled the covers over my head and tried to ignore the irritating voice. The warm covers were snatched off me. I made a grab for them but Hanna held them out of my reach.

"It is time to get up. We have to go shopping today and buy you some new clothes." She said handing me a toothbrush. I reluctantly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. Hanna showed me how to use the taps before leaving to go help prepare breakfast. I washed and changed into a plain cream dress that I had found lying on the bed.

I hoped that if we went shopping I could get some trousers as well. If I am going to be doing anything outside then I will need them. I sat at the dressing table and combed my hair. I braided it and before going for breakfast. I walked down the hall and looked out the windows at the mountains. Lush green grass and ferns grew all over the hill. There was a light grey stone road that went up and over the mountain I had always wondered what was behind the mountain. They were not large mountains like I had seen near other shorelines down the coast. I heard that there was a village just over the mountain, which could be where we would be heading today. I was oddly looking forward to it.

I walked into the dining room. Zale was sitting in his place at the head of the table reading a newspaper. I remember finding one of those on the edge of a deserted beach and taking it behind a large rock. I read all about humans but I didn't understand most of it. It was quite fascinating. I had to leave it on the rock because the paper became weak and broke apart in the water. When I came back the next day to try and read some more it was gone.

Zale looked up when I walked in. He smiled and stood up to pull out my chair. I sat down on his left. He returned to his seat.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked with tired eyes.

"Yes the bed was very comfy thank you. And you?"

"Well, no, not last night. Sleep didn't come for a while. I suppose I was just thinking too much." He shook his head as if trying to get a thought out of his head.

Hanna came into the room with a pot with a strange handle. I had seen them in shipwrecks but I never found out what they were called. She tipped the pot sideways and a dark brown liquid came out of the strange handle and splashed into the cup. She poured everyone some before setting it down on the table and leaving the room.

"What's this called?" I said pointing to the large pot.

"That's a teapot." Zale laughed. "This is tea." He pointed to the brown liquid. "Have you ever had tea?"

"No."

"Well it is amazing. If you miss one thing when you go back to the sea it will be tea." He picked up some milk and poured it into the cup. It mixed with the tea to make a creamy colour. He then put two spoons of sugar into it. He handed me the cup excited to see if I liked it. It was warm, I brought it to my lips but before I could take a sip he pulled the cup from my hands.

"It's hot you have to blow on it." He blew on the tea before handing it back to me. I took a sip. It was sweet and had a taste I had never experienced. I loved it, I smiled at those beautiful green eyes.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, it is delicious. I have never tasted anything like it."

"I knew you would like it." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. Hanna came into the room and looked curiously between the both of us. I looked down at the table to hide my face and she placed a plate in front of me. There was some toast and two eggs. I remember eating eggs when I was last stuck on land for thirty days. I wondered if anyone was looking for me yet as I ate my breakfast and sipped my tea. They probably just thought I went off with the dolphins for a few days.

After breakfast Zale gave Hanna a purse full of coins and asked her to get some eggs when we were shopping. We set out the front door which was facing the sea and I looked down the hill at the golden sandy beach. As I predicted we went up the hill, when we reached the top I saw a village with many small shops on the bigger streets and there were houses on the outer layer of the town. The houses were all beautiful like sea cottages and the shops were lovely shades of light blues, greens, pinks and oranges. Most of the roofs had straw on them just like Hanna's house but her house was very big and made of large grey stones unlike the houses in the village.

The hill didn't go down very far; the village was still on the other side of the hill but was raised up. A river flowed down the right side of it and went under the mountain and came out the other side. It was fast flowing and deep I often tried to swim up it at night time when no one could see. It was too fast but I had gotten under the mountain before. It was sort of like a cavern and had stalactites and stalagmites on the roof and floor.

I followed Hanna into the village. The streets were full of people running about getting their food and weekly supplies. We went into a shop that said tailor on a large wooden sign outside it. It was a light blue colour and had beautiful dresses in the window. We went inside and were greeted by a plump woman with an oval face and rosy cheeks. Hanna explained that I was a family friend that was staying with them until the wedding and we wanted to buy some dresses. The woman was delighted to help and couldn't help admiring my unusual hair colour. She took my measurements and we picked out a few dresses. Three of them fit well but two of them had to be adjusted. The ones I picked were cream, lilac, red, orange and a light pink. We were to come back after doing the reset of our shopping to see if they were ready. Hanna begrudgingly let me buy some trousers and shirts. She also made me get some skirts to go with the shirts. The woman in the shop said she would dress the trousers up a bit to make them suitable for a woman to wear.

We went into a ribbon shop and the moment I set foot in it Hanna would have to drag me out. I had never seen so many ribbons in one place and of so many colours. A nice man was helping us pick out some when a man came into the shop from the back door. He was tall with dark hazel hair and green eyes. He looked familiar and was very handsome. When he saw us he strolled over casually.

"Is my father being kind to you Hanna, Who is this?" He asked Hanna.

"This is a family friend that is staying with us until the wedding. Her name is Nixie." Hanna replied picking up a silk red ribbon. The man took my hand and kissed it. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. The man's father, the man that was helping us, went away to help another customer as we chatted.

"What a rare and exquisite name. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am James Walsh." The man said.

"Nice to meet you." I mumbled. Hanna held up the red ribbon to my hair. She nodded to herself and put it in the pile. James picked it up and moved around behind me.

"May I?" He said over my shoulder. I nodded and he took my braid in his hand, took the plain ribbon out of my hair and replaced it with the red one.

"This one is for free." He said grinning.

"Thank you."

"Are you ladies attending the ball in two weeks?" He asked.

"Of course." Hanna said like it was obvious.

"Well I will be expecting to dance with you Nixie." He said and left out the front door of the shop. I felt myself blushing and tried to hide it from Hanna but she was looking at me suspiciously. We paid for the ribbons and got some hair slides before we left. We went to a shoe shop next and got some boots for outside and two pairs of flat shoes and one pair with a small heel. I wasn't great on my feet as it is and I wasn't sure how I would handle shoes with a heel. We ate some lunch in a restaurant. We had just finished eating and were waiting for the woman to come over so we could pay.

"I saw the way you blushed when James was around. I hope you don't fall for him instead of my brother. He is trouble so be careful."

"Don't worry, merpeople can't fall in love with humans." was my reply. We paid for the food and left to see if the dresses were ready. They were and we now had many bags full of our shopping. I didn't know how we were going to carry it all. I was just thinking this when a carriage stopped beside us. James got off the front of it and offered to give us a lift. We accepted and we packed our bags into the carriage.

Hanna realised that she forgot the eggs and ran off to get them, leaving me alone with James. He moved over and leaned against the carriage beside me.

"So where exactly did you say you were from?" He asked. I probably should have prepared a town name but I didn't so I didn't know what to say.

"Eh…Oh you know just down the road." I said slowly.

His eyebrows went up.

"Where exactly down the road?"

"Erm… France."

"France?" He asked unsure.

"Yes, a small village called… Poisson." I said using the French word for fish as the village name. He nodded unsure of my answer. Thankfully Hanna returned and we set off over the hill. James helped each of us down from the carriage before saying his goodbye and setting off back down the hill. I told Hanna about what I said to James. She rolled her eyes and said "Great now we have to pretend you are French."

She helped me unpack all the bags and we hung up the dresses in the wardrobe and folded the trousers, skirts and shirts before putting them in the dresser. The shoes were put in drawers too and the ribbons in a small drawer on the dressing table. I wandered around the house and found a large library. There were many tall bookshelves and I took a book from the shelf and sat in a cushiony armchair chair by the window.

I read about pirates until dinner was ready. At dinner we chatted about our day in the village and that night I fell asleep after finishing almost half of the book. Day number two was over. Only twenty eight more to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.3**

Day three:

Last night I dreamt again. This time I was on the beach and I was dancing with a man. At first I couldn't make out his face but I knew it was the boy I watched dancing on the beach seven years ago. Then I realised I was dancing with Zale, I had only realised this and then his face changed and I was dancing with James.

Suddenly I was falling and I fell into the deep blue sea. A strong merman caught me and brought me down deeper into the water. I tried to swim away but he kept pulling me down deeper. I tried to shout but I used all the air in my lungs and couldn't breathe anymore, I woke up breathing hard. It was just a dream, I told myself. He wouldn't really do that.

It made me think about who the boy I watched dancing on the beach could be. Could it be Zale? He had dark brown hair and green eyes but then so did James, could it be James. Maybe it was neither of them, for all I knew the boy could have moved towns.

I rolled out of bed and opened the curtains. The sea was glistening in the sun, I watched as a dolphin jumped out of the water and landed back in with a splash. It looked like my guardian Bubbles. He disappeared into the water and didn't come back up.

I washed in the bathroom. I missed the gold in my hair but it returned when it was wet. After towel drying my hair they disappeared again. I frowned into the mirror before putting on my new trousers and shirts. The lady in the shop took them in so they weren't so baggy like they were on men. They were form fitting and looked nice. I left the room and went into the dining room. No one was in the room. I left the room and noticed the front door was open. I walked over to it and found Zale sitting on the bench outside the door putting on his boots. He looked up when I stepped outside.

"Good Morning. Would you like to help me collect the eggs?" He asked putting on his last shoe.

"Sure."

I followed Zale around the side of the house, there were chickens in a sort of netted off area. The ground was rocky around the side of the house. I hadn't perfected using feet again yet and found it hard to navigate around the rocks.

"We have eight chickens here." Zale said turning around. I looked up at his green eyes for a second. My foot hit into a rock, pain shot up through my big toe. I stumbled forward; Zale caught me in his arms. His arms felt strong and warm. My hands clutched onto the fabric on his shirt. We stayed still for a moment holding onto each other and I felt my heartbeat speed up. He then helped me navigate through the rocky ground and over to the chickens, holding my hands in his the whole time. They were strong and protecting, in that moment would have followed him wherever he led me.

"Is your foot alright?" He asked bending down to have a look at it. He lifted it slightly and removed my boot. I wobbled dangerously on one foot and grabbed his shoulder with both hands. He raised his head and looked up at me with a grin.

"We will have to improve your footwork, if you are to dance at the ball. Maybe some balancing exercises." He laughed.

"I don't even know how to dance." I replied.

"I'm sure I can find some time before the ball to teach you."

I felt excited at the idea, and I felt myself blush. He moved my foot in different directions and when I told him it didn't hurt he put my boot back on. He stood up slowly and I took my hands off his shoulders slowly when he was standing fully upright.

We collected the eggs from the chickens and brought them back to the kitchen in a basket. He held my hands all the way back to the front door, so that I wouldn't trip again. He let go and opened the door, he motioned for me to go in first and I did. We went into the kitchen where Hanna was heating up the pan for the eggs. She put some butter on it and then cracked the eggs into the pan. I watched as the clear part of the eggs turned white and the yellow yolk darkened to almost an orange. It was fascinating to watch. We ate breakfast and after it Hanna brought me out to the garden.

We watered the flowers and the vegetables in the vegetable patch. I looked down at the sea. I walked over to the small gate in front of the house. I looked down at the shining sea. The waves washed up onto the sand before being dragged back into the sea. The sea was so full of life and longed to touch it just to feel the soft waves touch my skin. I placed the watering can in my hand onto the garden wall and opened the gate, I wandered towards my home. I slipped off my boots when I reached the beach, sinking my toes into the golden sand. The tide was high and I didn't have to walk far before my feet were touching the warm water. I rolled up my trousers to my knee and stepped in. The sea was soft and silky on my skin and I moved to go further but I felt a hand on my arm.

"Is that a good idea?" Zale said from behind. His grip was loose. I didn't answer or turn around. His grip was loose. It was too late, I could feel the sea and the all the life in it. I watched as fish swarmed at my feet tickling them as they swam around me. I let out a giggle and shifted feet. The sea was a green shade and the silver on the fish scales shined in all the colours of the rainbow. Many different types of fish swam around me each one unique and full of life.

It wasn't long before Bubbles appeared. Bubbles was a dolphin my guardian, my protector, my friend. His real name was Sam but when I first met him he blew bubbles in my face and from then on he was known as Bubbles to me. He whistled and clicked when he saw me and squirted water in my direction. I moved out further and hugged him. Zale let go of me.

Bubbles was worried about me; he understood immediately what had happened after all he was my guardian. He told me that my family was wondering where I was but were not too worried yet, for I often disappeared for days. He had stayed out of site so that no one would wonder why we were not together.

"I miss you too. I will come back soon, don't worry. I will send word of my whereabouts in a few days." I said to Bubbles.

Bubbles gave me one last hug before turning around and diving into the sea to join his family who were waiting a bit further out. He did a few flips before disappearing from my view. I turned around and stepped out of the water. Zale was gone.

I sat on the sand for a while. I lay down and felt something digging into my back. I reached for it and pulled it out, it was a sea shell. The creamy coloured shell was about an inch each way. I ran my fingers over the ridges of it and slipped it into my pocket. I got up and went into the house. I shouldn't stay near the sea for too long in case I am seen and it's reported to my parents. Sure they will find out eventually but I don't think I can tell them just yet.

I went into the house and Zale wasn't anywhere in site. I found Hanna in the library reading. When I walked in she looked up and held my gaze. I looked away and picked up a book before sitting down beside her. We read for a while and then she stood up.

"Zale said you went into the water."

I finished the sentence I was on and looked up. Her eyes told me she was scared of something but her face had a mask that said she was calm and content.

"I did."

"What will happen when they realise you are missing? Will you get in trouble? Will they come after me?"

"It will be alright. They will just have to wait until I can turn back and no, they will not come after you. Don't worry." I reassured her and she sat down heavily with a sigh of relief.

"Were you worried?" I asked

"Well yes and then I thought that you told the dolphin that it was my fault. I just saw my chance and I took it. I know it was wrong and unfair. I'm sorry but I just can't help feeling that I was meant to bring you here."

I took her hand in mine and looked her in the eye. "I forgive you." She smiled slightly and squeezed my hand lightly before letting go.

"I have something for you." She said and ran out of the room. She came back in with her hands behind her back and a shy smile on her face. She told me to close my eyes and stick out my hands. She dropped something in my hand and told me I could open my eyes. I looked down and the cluster of shells in my hand. It was a bracelet made of shells, of many colours, silvers, creams, purples, pinks and greens. I put it on my wrist and hugged her in gratitude.

We spent the rest of the evening reading to each other in the library. We took turns and put on different accents and voices while reading. We were in stitches laughing by the time dinner was ready. The man that served us dinner the first night was back. He was called Charles and he cooked lunch and dinner for the family every day except Saturdays that was his day off. He had been working for the family for fifteen years now and lived in a house in the village.

After dinner I braided my hair and placed the sea shell I found on the beach on my windowsill. I took off my bracelet and placed it on the dressing table. I got into bed and read until I fell asleep. Day number three was over. Only twenty seven more to go.


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.4**

Day four:

I had the same dream again. I woke up breathing hard. I got up and washed before going for breakfast. Today I decided to wear the orange dress I got in the village. I tied my hair up with a red ribbon. The one James gave to me as a gift. Hanna was in the kitchen and she showed me how to cook the eggs. I messed up the first one so bad that we had to throw it out but the rest turned out okay.

After breakfast Zale asked if I wanted to collect some more eggs with him. I said yes and went to put my boots on. I met him at the front door and we walked around the side of the house. He took my hand and helped me over the rocks. We collected four eggs and put them in the basket. We walked back around the house but because Zale was helping me over the rocks and not concentrating on what he was doing, he nearly tripped. I pulled him towards me so he didn't fall. His body hit into mine and he held onto me to steady himself.

"Sorry." He laughed. "I'm as bad as you."

I rolled my eyes at him and he chuckled to himself before guiding me around to the front of the house.

"I was thinking maybe today we—" Zale started but was interrupted by a male voice.

"Good morning." The voice said. We turned around to see who was there. It was James. He was looking down at Zale and I's joined hands. He raised his eyebrows at Zale and he immediately let go of my hand. It dropped to myside.

"James." Zale said coldly.

"Hello." I said cheerfully.

James walked over smiling and took my hand; the one Zale had been holding and he kissed it with his soft lips and let it go again. James looked at Zale as he kissed my hand. He turned his attention back to me.

"Nixie, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me on a _promenade_ through the forest." James said emphasizing the French word. I was lucky I actually did know French or I would have just blown my cover. He looked around at my hair and smiled. "I see you are wearing the red ribbon. You look enchanting." I felt myself blush at the complement.

"That sounds lovely. Thank you." I replied.

"Shall we?" He asked motioning to the gates. I handed the basket of eggs to Zale before following James out the gates. Zale caught my wrist as I went. I turned to see what was wrong.

"He can't know about you." Zale said looking serious. I nodded and he released my wrist. When I reached the gate I looked back, Zale was standing in the same place, watching us leave. I waved goodbye and he went into the house. We set off side by side down the dusty road towards the lush green forest. I had only been in a forest once before and it reminded me of the reefs at the bottom of the ocean. Full of life but instead of fish swimming through the coral there are birds flying and making nests in the trees. We reached the forest and I looked was fascinating to look at, to see all the similarities and differences.

"The weather is delightful. Isn't it? I felt the need to go for a walk through the forest. You were the first person I thought of to come along with me."

The sun was shining and there was a nice warm sea breeze. We chatted and I learned that his father owned a few ribbon shops in the villages nearby and that James himself hoped to expand the business even more when he took it over. For a while the beauty of the forest captured my attention and I stayed quiet and observant. I ran my hands along the different tree barks, some smooth and some rough. I felt the green leaves from the trees and observed the many shades of green that were so beautiful.

"Are you friends with Zale?" I asked, remembering their cold exchange earlier.

"We went to school together, we didn't exactly get along." He replied looking uncomfortable. I nodded wondering if something had happened. He looked like he didn't want to discuss the topic so I left it.

"When did you arrive from France?" He asked changing the topic.

"This is my fourth day here."

"Have you been swimming in the sea yet?"

"I only dipped my feet in. The water was lovely."

"Yes I swim in it often. Have you seen any mermaids yet?" I stopped walking; he turned noticing I had stopped.

"No, just some dolphins. I have seen some in France. Are there many in the area?" I said which was not exactly lying. I crossed off the path to have a look at some flowers at the base of a tree trunk. They had silky lilac petals with bright green stalks. I plucked one from the earth and took it with me as we walked.

"Yes I believe there are many in the area. I have only even seen three in my whole life. They are very fast and great at blending in. Hopefully you get to see one before you return to France." He said as the path came to a fork. I wondered if I was one of the mermaids that he saw. One path led on the left and it looked dark and dense and the right path looked bright, the trees were beginning to separate. We took the right path and it led out onto the sandy beach. We sat down on the sand and looked out at the water. Seagulls cawed and flew overhead scouting for fish. My left hand was by my side playing with the sand, grabbing handfuls and letting the tiny warm grains of sand slip through my fingers. While my right was playing with the lilac flower.

James placed his hand over mine. He turned and looked into my eyes, I found myself getting lost in those green eyes as he moved closer.

"You are so beautiful." He whispered as his pink lips drew nearer. His green eyes closed and I was no longer lost in them. I knew where I was again and I pulled my head back in a panic and scrambled to my feet.

"I-I can't I'm sorry" I turned and ran into the forest, dropping the lilac flower as I ran.

"Nixie, no, I'm sorry, come back. I shouldn't have done that." James shouted after me. I ran and ran choosing the dark dense path so he wouldn't find me. I didn't know if my feet were capable of taking me down a rough path with tree roots in the way. I had only just thought about how well I was running and avoiding the roots so well, when I tripped over one of them and stumbled forward. I fell hard onto my knees and felt a stinging pain in them as I pushed myself off the ground and ran on. I found a hollow tree and I sat in it. I sat quietly catching my breath. I could hear James still shouting after me. His voice was getting further away; he must have headed down the other path.

I pulled my dress up over my knees to examine them. They were grazed slightly and stinging. I let the air at them for a while. I leaned back and took in a deep breath. I felt moisture on my cheeks and realised I was crying. I felt so silly crying over something so small. I don't know why I didn't let him kiss me; I mean he was a nice man. I knew it wasn't because of a certain merman back home. He didn't have anything to do with it. After all what happens on land stays on land.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and told myself to stop crying but the tears kept falling. I didn't understand so I just let myself cry alone in the hollow tree. I sat there for a long time. When I finally stopped crying I curled up in a ball and fell asleep in the tree.

I awoke, hearing my name being called so desperately that I quickly emerged from my hiding place. It was getting very dark. I looked around but couldn't see anyone. Then in the distance I saw a light; I stepped back behind a tree. The light moved closer, twigs snapping, leaves rustling as they moved.

"Nixie." The man holding the light called. It sounded like Zale, I waited until the light got closer, and I could see his figure now. It was Zale so I stepped out from the tree. He turned catching movement in his peripheral vision. He jumped back when he saw me and let out a yelp. I released a small giggle. I was reminded of home again. My friend Pearl and I always played tricks on people and jumped out on them. He realised who it was and with a look of relief came closer.

"Where were you? We were all so worried." He pulled me into a tight hug. When he pulled away he spoke again. "You're cold." He then shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep." He looked like he wanted to quiz me on what happened but instead he put and arm around my shoulders. "You know you can talk to me if you need to or even to Hanna?"

I nodded. I didn't want to talk about it so I stayed quiet. He led me back onto the path and we walked side by side out of the forest. He led me onto the beach.

"We can walk back along the beach if you would prefer." He offered and I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak. I felt if I opened my mouth I would just blurt out what happened and start crying again. We began to walk along the beach but I stopped and took off my shoes. I held them in my arms and walked through the soft sand. I felt closer to the sea this way. I missed home but I was beginning to like these people on land. I would probably miss them when I went home.

I thought about Pearl. Her parents decided to call her Pearl because her tail was white and shimmered like a pearl. She was my best friend, partner in crime, mischief and my adventure buddy. I hadn't seen her for a week or so because she went to visit some relatives in the mid-Atlantic ridge. She would be gone for another few days and would notice my disappearance when she returned. She would probably think I went off on one of our many adventures without her. I was beginning to miss her; I could talk about anything with her. I shivered in the sea breeze.

Zale put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. I felt myself heat up against his body. I heard a splash in the water and looked out to the sea. I saw a patch of black under the dark water before it disappeared. I ran to the edge of the water and looked out at the sea. Had I imagined that? Maybe it was just a fish.

"What's wrong?" Zale asked.

"Nothing, its cold lets hurry back." I replied wanting to get back as soon as possible. I walked ahead at a quicker pace. It was very dark so Zale caught up and held the light in front of me so I could see where I was going. We reached the house and I put my shoes back on before going up the hill. The gate creaked as I opened it. Lights from the sitting room spilled out the window into the garden, lighting most of it. Zale turned off the oil lamp. We followed the path to the front door. He took out a key and opened the door.

I stepped inside and was jumped on by Hanna. She hugged me tight, I put my arms around her a pat her back. She pulled away and looked me up and down to examine me. She saw the rip by my knees on the dress and the brownish/red stains from the blood.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes I'm fine." I answered shrugging off Zale's jacket and handing it back to him with a thank you. I heard the back door close and Hanna turned around.

"That's James leaving. He just wanted to see that you got back okay. He wouldn't say what happened and he was very worried." Hanna said nodding towards the back door. I took Hanna's hand and pulled her into my room after me. I sat down on the bed when she closed the door. She went into the bathroom and brought out a cloth and a bowl of warm water.

"Let's see your knees." She said and I pulled up my dress so reveal my scraped and bloody knees. She made a face of disgust before cleaning them. When they were clean she said "It's late. We will talk in the morning, okay? Just get some sleep." I nodded and she walked to the door.

"Hanna" I said as she opened the door. She looked around. "Thank you." I said and a small smile appeared on her face.

"You are welcome." She left and closed the door lightly.

I changed into some night clothes and got into bed. Sleep came pretty fast. Day number four was over, only twenty six more to go.


	5. Chapter 5

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.5**

Day five:

I had a dream last night similar to the other one ones but this time as the merman dragged me down to the bottom of the ocean he begged for me to come home. I struggled to breathe and Pearl swam over and tried pull me back up to the surface. She bit into his shiny black tail and he let me go. I woke up sweating and breathing hard.

I got up and washed myself. I put on the cream dress and went to have breakfast. No one else was up and so I made myself some eggs. They turned out okay; I had some toast with them and a glass of cold milk. I cleaned up after myself and went to put some shoes on. I wore some flats and walked out the door and down to the beach.

I took off the shoes, set them on the sand and hoisted up my skirt before walking carefully on the big rocks jutting out into the sea. I reached the end of them and sat down dipping my legs into the water up to my knees. Shiny fish began to swim around my legs tickling them. I shooed them away after it got too much. I began singing softly to myself to call upon a special creature that would come heal me.

It was about five minutes before the two spiny orange starfish arrived. They placed themselves on my knees and released their slime onto my cuts. The slime from this type of starfish was quick to heal cuts on mermaids. After another five minutes I pealed the spiny starfish off and thanked them before releasing them into the ocean.

After another five minutes the sea water had healed the rest of the cuts. My skin was unmarked now. I sat in the water for another few minutes and looked out at the sparking sea. I longed to jump in but I was wearing a cream dress and that would become see-through.

Suddenly I felt something grab onto my feet and I was pulled forward into the blue sea. There was a big splash when I landed into the water. Water rushed into my mouth and nose. I spat it out and tried to swim to the surface, using my hands. My legs automatically came together and worked as one to bring me to the surface. There was still something holding onto my legs and I kicked to get free. I was released and I grabbed onto a rock. A head of purple hair popped out of the water in front of me. Pale hands pushed the hair out of the woman's face.

"Keep your shells on." She laughed looking at the expression on my face.

"Pearl you nearly scared my tail off of me." I scolded.

"No I think you did that yourself." She laughed diving under the water. She grabbed my legs and feet and seemed to be examining them. She tickled them so I kicked her and she came back to the surface and laughed.

"Well, you better explain yourself. Were you that bored without me that you had to resort to this?"

"Don't flatter yourself." I laughed.

I swam over to her and gave her a big hug. She hugged me back and pulled me out and around to the other side of the rocks, out of sight. She brought me over to a rock and I sat on it so I was half in the water. She looked at me expectantly, her eyebrows rose. I would have to explain to her what had happened. I took a deep breath not really knowing how to start.

"Okay, let's see, well… I got caught in a net and a girl found me. She brought me up to her house and I had no choice but to change. Her brother told her that she had to take care of me and I am now living with them in their house. Then a different man tried to kiss me and I ran away from him and now I'm really confused," I said quickly hoping I didn't confuse her too.

"Okay slow down. A guy?"

"Is that all you heard me say?"

"Maybe"

"Well, yes his name is James and we went for a walk in the forest. Then we sat on the beach he tried to kiss me and I couldn't do it. I upped and ran. It got dark and Zale came and found me and we went back to the house."

"Did you not want to kiss him?"

"I don't know. He is nice and all but there is someone else I think."

"Oh yea Seth, he knows you are here. He saw you on the beach with a man. He told me and I told him not to tell your parents."

"I didn't mean Seth." I muttered under my breath, half hoping she wouldn't hear me. I raised my voice back to normal and said "Oh no, he saw me?"

"Yes and who did you mean? The guy that walked you back to the house?"

"Yes… I think. He is really sweet but he is engaged."

"And so are you."

"Oh don't you start. Anyway I'm not even sure."

She nodded before diving down into the water. Her pearly tail came out of the water and splashed me. I covered my face and she popped back up with her hands behind her back. She pulled out some sea shells.

"I got them for you in the mid-Atlantic ridge." She handed the sea shells to me. They were a deep red to go with my tail. They were very beautiful. I thanked her and told her they would be the first ones I would wear when I got back into the water and that I would be able to change back into a mermaid on my birthday and she said that my parents were beginning to notice I was gone and that I needed to send them word.

"Nixie!" I heard Hanna calling.

"I have to go but I will tell them soon." I promised.

"Good luck." Pearl dived down into the sea and I got up and scrambled over the rocks towards the house. I looked down at myself, my dress was soaking wet and sticking to my body. It was nearly see through at this point. You could see my underwear and my orange sea shells that I wore under it. My hair had dried when I was sitting on the rocks so the gold was gone. I walked back up to the house. Hanna was waiting by the door she looked shocked when she saw me and ran back into the house. Zale looked out the door after he saw Hanna run back in. He saw me and stood still for a moment before spinning round on his heal. Hanna ran out with a towel and I wrapped it around me.

"What happened?" Zale asked turning around now that I was covered.

"I fell in." I said which was sort of true, well not really as I was pulled in by a mermaid. I went into the house and washed again, to get the salt out of my hair. I changed into the lilac dress and went to the library to read. After about an hour Hanna came into the room.

"We have to go into town to get your dress fixed. Will we go now or later?" She asked looking ready to head off.

"Let's go now." I got up and went to get the dress and put on my shoes. Hanna put the dress in a bag and told Zale we were going into the village. He said he was going to meet up with Elena and would walk with us. So we left the house together and walked over the hill. When we reached the top I stopped for a second and looked out to the sea. Dolphins were jumping around in the water and I was sure one of them was Bubbles. He would be staying as close as he could.

We walked into the village and Zale went off down a different road and Hanna and I went into the tailors. It was the same plump woman with the rosy cheeks as the last time. She didn't question what had happened but took it and told us to come back later.

We walked around the shops and Hanna brought me some nice smelling soaps. They smelled so nice; I couldn't wait to use them. Hanna tried to go into the ribbon shop but I grabbed her before she went in and pulled her back. She looked at me questioningly. I could see James in the window helping a customer pick out some ribbons. I couldn't see his face only the back of his head.

"Let's have a bite to eat." I said pulling her down the road to the place we had lunch the last time. She came with me and we sat down and ordered. She then questioned me on why I wouldn't go in.

"What happened between you two?" She questioned.

I told her what happened and she stayed quiet as I talked. Her eyebrows narrowed as I finished.

"I am going to go over there and kill him." She said a little too loudly as she got up from her chair. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, which got us a few odd looks from other customers and members of staff. I shushed her and told her not to mention it to him. She eventually said she wouldn't.

"I can't believe he tried that. That is way too fast, no wonder you ran off. I told you he was trouble." Our food came and we ate slowly before looking around some of the other shops. We ended up buying me a bag and some sweets to share. We went back to the dress shop and the dress was patched up good as new. We paid and went back to the house. We went into the library and read as we nibbled on the sweets. They were not like anything I had ever tasted; they all had different fruity flavours and were very sugary.

Zale didn't return until after dinner time and he went into his room after saying hello to us. I went to bed and as I lay there I thought about what I would tell my parents. I would have to tell them the next day, I didn't want them to worry.

The longest time I had disappeared for was about a week and my parents were furious, Pearl and I had gone down to the South Pole to meet the penguins. It was so much fun, they taught us how to slide on the ice and we made some great friends. We hitched a ride on a whale so it only took us about two days to get there and two back so we spent three days with the penguins. I wanted to go back but I didn't get the chance yet.

My mind was wandering and I ended up falling asleep without any idea of what I would say to my parents. That was the end of day five, only twenty five more to go.


	6. Chapter 6

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.6**

Day six:

I woke up again breathing hard again after having the same dream as the night before. This was getting ridiculous. Was I ever going to have a peaceful dreamless sleep here on land?

I got up and washed with the new nice smelling soaps Hanna had gotten me and put on a skirt and a shirt. I saw the beautiful red shells Pearl got me sitting on my dresser and considered putting them on, I changed my mind after remembering I told her I would wear them on my birthday when I got my mermaid tail back. I plated my hair and then tired it into a bun.

I went into the dining room and everyone was clearing up after breakfast. I looked at the clock on the wall; it was eleven I must have slept in. I grabbed some toast and a glass of orange juice. I wasn't that hungry. After eating I cleared up and found Hanna in the kitchen scrubbing the counters and the big cooker.

"Can you grab that mop and clean the dining room floor?" Hanna asked as she pushed a bucket full of soapy water towards me with her foot. I took it and washed the floor. She then asked me to wash the library floor so I took the mop and bucket into the library. Zale was in there dusting the shelves.

"Our parents are coming home tomorrow so we want the place to be clean or they won't trust us to stay home alone again." He smiled and I nodded in understanding as I walked over to the other side of the room to start cleaning. As I walked past him he stuck out the duster aiming for my head, I dodged it, well just about, and tried to wet him with the mop. I soaked his trousers and his jaw dropped as he looked down at himself and he lunged at me with a grin on his face and the duster in hand. I let out a small scream as I stepped backwards and tripped over the bucket of water, the water spilled onto the floor and I began to fall backwards.

Zale grabbed my wrists to try and steady me but ended up slipping on the water as well and we both fell to the floor with a crash. Zale was lying on top of me and he nearly knocked the wind out of me. His head was lying on my shoulder and he lifted it up slowly. His lips were a few inches from mine, and I felt his warm breath on my cheek, he blinked and his eyes widened. He rolled off me and there was a splashing noise. I was lying on the wooden floor in a puddle of soapy water. Zale got up quickly after realising he just rolled into water and helped me to my feet. He nearly slipped in the water and fell back down on me but caught himself at the last second. My back was soaking wet.

We looked down at the mess we made and burst out laughing. He ran out of the room to get some towels while I tried to spread the water out over the floor with the mop. The duster was soaking wet and I kicked it out of the way. Zale returned to the room with about five towels pilled in his arms and I laughed at the site of him. He nearly slipped again on the water but I grabbed his arm and steadied him while trying not to laugh to loud knowing Hanna would kill us if she saw this mess.

"What have you…?" Hanna's voice said. Speak of the devil. We turned around and saw Hanna standing in the door. We stood there like two children who had just created a mess which was pretty much what we had done. She looked at the floor and then at the both of us and said "You know what, I don't even want to know." She left the room without another word and as soon as the door closed the giggles returned. We threw the towels on the floor and stood on them and tried to dry the floor by pushing the towels around with our feet, which included a lot of slipping and I nearly pulled Zale onto the floor with me again more than once.

"That was entirely your fault." I said through my giggles.

"You're the one who knocked over the bucket." He said coming closer. I stepped back slowly and he followed.

"You attacked _me_ with a duster." I felt my leg hit into the back of the armchair.

"You attacked _me_ with a mop." He gestured to his soaking wet trousers as he stepped closer again. He was right up close to me and I ended up having to sit down because I was leaning back uncomfortably. He put his hands on either side of the armchair's armrests and leaned down close to my face.

I opened my mouth to say a comeback but I couldn't think of a good one. His green eyes were a light shade with some brown coloured bits near the pupil at the edge of his iris. His face came closer to mine and he looked down at my lips and my eyes drifted closed. I felt warm breath by my ear and his voice spoke softly. "See it is your fault."

The door to the room opened and we looked up. Hanna was standing there, she looked at me and then at Zale and back again.

"Oh sorry. Keep doing that." She said as she closed the door quickly with a massive grin on her face. Zale's face turned a bright red and I could feel my face heating up. He stepped back awkwardly and ran his hand through his thick brown hair as he looked around at the mess.

"I'll finish up here, you can go change." He said turning away and picking up the mop. I stood up and left the room. I washed my body again with the nice soaps. I was glad I had decided to tie my hair up in a bun this morning because it didn't get wet. I changed into a different skirt and shirt. I took the wet ones out to the wash room and washed them before hanging them up outside the house in the front back garden.

I saw Zale in the library through the window he seemed to be finishing up and he was dusting with a new dry duster. Hanna came up to me and gave me a similar duster and asked me to dust the sitting room. I found a stack of records and asked Hanna to put one on, she showed me how to put it on and left to go wash the sheets. I listened to the music as I dusted; the music on land was just as beautiful as the music in the sea, although they were both very different and unique it was so calming. I moved my body to the sounds but first I made sure to close the door so no one would see. It was fun but I was sure I looked a little weird. After all I didn't know how humans danced.

I hummed along when I got to know the tunes. When I finished dusting I turned off the music and put the duster away. It was almost dinner time; I guess I wouldn't be able to tell my parents where I was today. Charles served dinner to us and we cleared our plates after a long day of tiring work.

After dinner I went down to the sandy beach. I sat and watched the sun set. It created a strange orange glow over the water. I saw dolphins jumping out of the water in the distance, it looked like they were jumping in front of the large orange sun and it really was spectacular. The dolphins looked darker almost black in front of the sun. I watched them playing for a long time. I spotted Bubbles in the crowd and was happy he was doing well. I saw a merman jump out of the water beside the dolphins. The sun made it look like his tail was black but I wasn't sure if it was the sun doing that or if his tail really was black. I stood up quickly and ran back up to the house. When I reached the door I looked back the dolphins were gone and I saw what looked like a man's head in the water where the dolphins were jumping. He stayed still and I went into the house quickly and closed the door behind me.

I went into my bedroom and got ready for bed. I read for a while and tried not to think about what I saw. I told myself I was just seeing things and it wasn't who I thought it was. I fell asleep after a long time. That was the end of day six, only twenty four more to go.


	7. Chapter 7

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.7**

Day seven:

I woke up having no recollection of dreaming. I smiled to myself, finally a peaceful night. I stayed in bed for a little longer because I couldn't hear any voices or movement in the house. A while later I heard someone walk down the hall so I decided to get up and wash. I used the nice soaps and after wringing out my hair I decided to leave it down. I brushed it in front of the mirror at the dressing table. I watched as the gold faded from my hair as it dried. I changed into some trousers and a shirt.

I would have to tell my parents what happened, today. I had left it too long already. I just really didn't want to. I didn't know how they would react. They would just have to let it go, there wasn't anything they could do without getting an Asrai involved. An Asrai was a water fairy; they had legs and lived for hundreds of years. They usually lived at the bottom of the ocean for if sunlight is to touch their skin they will die. If an Asrai touches a human's skin the skin will forever be cool never to feel heat again wherever they touch.

They like to stay out of mermaid societies because they don't feel like they are welcome even though I have extended the hand of friendship to one near our underwater city. She occasionally spoke to Pearl and I. She was nice underneath her hard exterior. My parents often spoke of how hostile she was and I am sure she won't help them. Anyway I sort of want to stay longer, I'm learning so much.

I went into the dining room and Hanna was sitting in a huff by the window. Zale was sitting at the table eating breakfast. I gave him a questioning look about Hanna but he just rolled his eyes.

"I cooked too much so there is some left in the pan, you can have it." Zale said pointing with his thumb behind him into the kitchen. I went and got some breakfast and sat at the table.

"What's wrong Hanna?" I asked as I shoved toast into my mouth.

She looked up from her sulking position. "The ball has been put off for an extra week." She moaned.

"Well that gives you longer how to teach me how to dance." I said looking at the bright side. I had forgotten about the ball and hadn't learned how to dance yet. So I had another two weeks to learn. I finished breakfast and left the table. Zale followed me into the hall and I opened the door to my room to go in. He tapped me on the shoulder. I turned wondering what he wanted.

"I want to show you something outside. You will need shoes." He said.

"Sure, hold on." I said and went into my room. I sat on the bed and began to do up my boots. He stood awkwardly in the doorway. "You can come in." I laughed. He stepped in and walked over to the window. He looked out the window. He picked up the sea shell I found on the beach from my windowsill and examined it. He put it back down and turned around. He spotted the red sea shells on my dresser and I felt embarrassed I had left those out. He walked over to them and picked them up I cringed. I finished doing up my last boot quickly.

"These are amazing, where did you find ones this colour?" He asked turning around with them in his hands.

"Erm" I said walking over to him. "My friend got me them in the mid-Atlantic ridge. They are for wearing." I took them from his hands and hastily put them in one of the drawers. It took him a second to realise what I meant. He looked down at my chest in realisation and then away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He turned bright red.

"I haven't worn them yet if that makes a difference." I laughed. He chuckled awkwardly and we left the room. I followed him around the back of the house and he had planks of wood lined out along the ground, some were thin and some were large. I looked at him questioningly.

"We are going to work on your balance." He smiled. "Here stand up here." He led me over to the largest plank of wood and I stood on the end. I walked along the plank and I was fine.

"Now close your eyes and walk." He said. "I'll catch you if you fall." I closed my eyes and began to walk slowly in a straight line. I walked faster after getting the hang of it. Zale grabbed my waist; I stopped walking and opened my eyes. I had reached the end of the plank. We moved onto the next one which was a bit slimmer. I walked the next one with my eyes opened and then did it with my eyes closed.

When I reached the end of the plank Zale told me to stand on one foot. I lifted one foot and put my arms out. He counted to thirty and I stayed up after wobbling a few times. I did this with both feet and then we moved on to the third plank. It was slimmer than my foot. I stood on it and began to walk. I wobbled a few times and had to grab onto Zale who stayed at my side the whole time. After some practice I was able to walk on the plank steadily with my eyes open. I then closed them and began to try walking like that. It was hard at the start but eventually I got it. Then I tried balancing on one foot, Zale taught me to look at a spot on the ground and concentrate on it. We spent ages outside.

Finally we went inside for some Tea. Zale made it just like it was on the first day I had it. It tasted so nice and I had two cups. Zale brought me back outside and we ran down the road to see how I would do. I ran steadily beside him, he kept an eye on me to make sure I didn't fall but I could feel I was getting better on my feet. It wasn't so hard after practising. We raced back to the house and I won but I think Zale let me win. I enjoyed running a lot it felt good to have the wind rush by you as you moved so fast with your feet.

"You did really well today. Tomorrow I'll show you how to climb a tree." He smirked. I smiled wondering what it would be like. "I'm going to go wash up; I am meeting Elena in town. I'll be back before my parents are home and I can explain why you are here."

I felt disappointed that he was going to meet up with Elena but she was his fiancée so of course he would want to spend time with her. He went into the house and I spent some more time on the planks out back. I then ran down to the forest, I turned around to run back and saw Zale heading up the hill to the village. He waved and I waved back before running back to the house.

I went inside and had some orange juice to quench my thirst. I strolled into the library and found Hanna sitting in an armchair reading a book. The bad of sweets that we had left over were sitting on the table beside her. I ran to my room to grab the book I was currently reading and joined her in the library. I took a sweet from the bag and popped it into my mouth. It tasted like apples.

There was a loud ringing sound that rang through the house. I looked up at Hanna. She folded down the corner in her book and set it down. She saw the curious look on my face and said "It's the doorbell, it means someone is at the door." She laughed at me. Underwater you just knocked on the door. She left the room and I heard the front door open. I continued reading and she came back into the room a few minutes later.

"Who was it?" I asked. She sat down and picked her book back up.

"James." She said opening her book to the page she left off. The sweet I was sucking on got lodged in my throat.

"What?" I said choking on my sweet. Hanna closed her book and reached over to pat me on the back. The sweet dislodged from my throat and she stopped patting me.

"I just told him that you were busy and he left." She said sitting back and re-opening her book.

"Oh come on, that's code for she doesn't want to talk to you. Even I know that." I said slightly angry she didn't tell me he was at the door.

"Exactly and I'm sure he knows that too." She said popping another sweet into her mouth.

"Hanna!" I moaned. She put her finger to her mouth and then pointed at her book. I rolled my eyes at her and she went back to reading. After a while I went to get changed into a nice dress and to brush my hair so I looked nice for her parents coming home. I took my time and then went for a walk down to the beach. I sat on the rocks for a while and looked out the sea.

Bubbles jumped out of the water in front of me and I stumbled backwards. He cackled and chirped at my shocked expression. I don't know how I missed him sneaking up. Well I suppose he did learn from the best. I pet him and he informed me that there were search parties out looking for me because I was gone for so long alone and that I needed to tell my parents my whereabouts.

"Can you do me a favour?" I asked and he clicked a maybe. "Can you tell my parents to come to the other side of those rocks down the beach if they want to find me, tomorrow at one?" I pointed down the beach behind large rocks out of site.

Bubbles nodded before jumping out of the water and diving back in with a splash. I moved out of the way so that I didn't get water on my dress. He jumped in again after whistling my name. I watched him swim away and then I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, it was Hanna. I smiled at her but then I remembered I was meant to be mad at her for sending James away and I turned my smile into a frown. She stuck out her tongue at me and sat down beside me.

"I never asked but what is it like in there?" She said dipping her feet in the water. I thought for a minute before answering.

"Wet."

She laughed. "No really?"

I thought for another minute before answering. "Beautiful, it really is. We have huge cities and towns at the bottom of the ocean, made of shells, sand and rocks. The castle has huge towers and balconies that you can see the whole city from. Sea moss and flowers grow all over the buildings and there are of course the sunken ships. We explore them and learn about humans from them."

"What about sharks?"

"I can take a shark." I said remembering many encounters with sharks. They were vicious but when they realised I was a princess they backed away for fear they would suffer the ruler of the oceans wrath. I was wandering around in deep unknown waters one evening and a shark came up behind me, he didn't know who I was and it was dark so he couldn't see my trident tattoo. He swam towards me and I punched him in the nose. He darted away before I could say piranha. I am small but I pack a mean punch.

Hanna smiled and rolled her eyes at my confidence. I put my feet into the water beside her. I let a small whistle escape from my mouth to call upon some fish. She gave me an odd look. I waited patiently and within a few minutes there were colourful fish swarming around my feet tickling me. It was nice. Hanna lifted her feet from the water in fear. I told her they were friendly and she reluctantly put her feet back in. We sat there until the sun began to go down.

We walked back up to the house and there was a carriage parked outside. Hanna ran ahead to greet her parents. I came into the house a bit behind her, she was standing with Zale and they hugged their tired looking parents. Their mom was a tall woman with light brown hair, their father, a tall handsome man with black hair. Zale tried to explain who I was but they waved him off and told him to explain in the morning and that I was welcome to stay. They headed off to bed after their long journey. They seemed like nice people, I looked forward to properly meeting them tomorrow.

I still hadn't told my parents where I was. I lay in bed for hours worrying about it, with my stomach in knots, before sleep finally came and took me. That was the end of day seven, only twenty three more to go.


	8. Chapter 8

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.8**

Day eight:

I guess I was only going to have one night of dreamless sleep on land. Last night I dreamt I was dancing on the rocks by the beach, the waves were splashing up around me and the sun was shining. I was dancing with James and then I was dancing with Zale. Suddenly my parents were there and they were the ones who dragged me down into the cold dark water. The merman with the black tail just watched as I drowned, beside him was Pearl looking desperate, as he held her back. I woke up sweating and breathing hard. I was so sure it was real, it felt so real and it took me a few minutes to calm down.

I rolled off the bed and washed before getting dressed into a nice dress. I was going to properly greet Hanna and Zale's parents today. I left my hair down and headed to the dining room.

Everyone was already up and having breakfast at the table. The table was filled with plates of fruit, toast, eggs and bacon. I stood in the doorway awkwardly, not sure whether to just go in and sit down or wait. Zale's father was at the top of the table where Zale had been sitting the whole week. He was reading a new paper and Zale was sitting on his left. Hanna was sitting by her mother looking uncomfortable, as if Zale had just told on her, which he probably did. Hanna's mother looked up and saw me; a friendly smile appeared on her face, the smile I'm not meant to trust.

"Come in come in, dear. Sit down. Zale has told me all about you, we are sorry that Hanna took you from your home. You are more than welcome to stay here." The woman said kindly. I sat down beside Hanna.

"Thank you. Mrs Evans." I said and I filled my plate for breakfast.

"I have to go to work; I'll be back for Dinner." Mr Evans said getting up from his seat and folding his newspaper. He placed it on the table gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and his daughter a kiss on the head. He took my hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess…?" He asked. I took in a deep breath.

"Princess Nixie Jette Irina Samona Valene Dragana of the North Atlantic Ocean." Hanna gave me an odd look and Zale raised his eyebrows. "But just call me Nixie." Mr Evans chuckled and kissed my hand before leaving.

"That's a bit of a mouthful." Zale commented.

"Each name is a representation of what I am meant to stand for as a ruler. Nixie means water sprite which is a general term for a being of water, Jette is a ruler, Irina is peace, Samona is to be a good listener, Valene is strong and Dragana is beloved."

"You won't rule though you have an older brother. Don't you?" Mrs Evans said.

"I do have an older brother yes."

I decided not to speak of our traditions; humans wouldn't understand it and would probably think it was wrong. "I am going for a short walk, I'll be back soon." I got up and left quickly. In my room I got ready to see my parents. I put on my orange sea shells under a shirt and wore a skirt. I put the flats on my feet and ran down to the beach. Pearl was waiting for me in the water behind some rocks.

"You might need this." She handed me my crown. It was made of gold and had been encrusted with red jewels to match my tail. I placed it on my head and set off down the beach to a hidden place behind large rocks. I took a deep breath, while wearing this crown I was not just Nixie anymore, I was a princess. I had to act like one.

I stood elegantly and still at the edge of the rocks in waiting. My head held high and shoulders back. The waves began crashing against the rock with great force, the wind picked up. I stayed still and the water soaked me. The gold returned to my hair. My father rose out of the water first, followed by my mother. Their faces expressionless but their eyes said it all: disappointment and shock. I bowed deeply. The royal guard followed and lined up behind them. The merman with the black tail was there too, off to the side with pearl, my brother, my sister and bubbles. I avoided his gaze.

"Princess Nixie Jette Irina Samona Valene Dragana of the North Atlantic Ocean" My father said. Oh was he mad. "What have you done?"

My mother came forward and tried to slap me across the face. My father grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Her dark blue hair was whipping around her face in the wind. She was furious with me.

"I had no choice." I said directly to my father.

"Go on." He said.

"I was caught in a net and I hit my head on some rocks. The tide left me on the shore and I couldn't get back into the water. I was beginning to dry up, so I changed." I lied.

"Where have you been staying?"

"A kind family took me in."

"When will you be able to turn back into a mermaid?"

"On my birthday."

He nodded in understanding but still looked angry.

"Do you want us to contact the Asrai?" My mother said after calming down slightly.

"No, I believe I need to know the land if I am to ever rule the sea."

"That is very wise and spoken like a true princess." My father said looking proud. I bowed again.

"This time you are alone, I will not send anyone to take care of you." My mother said.

"I understand." I said.

"I will expect you to send news every few days with Bubbles about your wellbeing." My father said and he turned around. He dove into the water and with one last glare my mother followed. The guard followed them and them my brother and sister. Pearl lingered for a moment but the merman in black gave her a look and she swam away.

I took my crown off and jumped off the rocks onto the beach. I walked along the beach quickly. The merman swam alongside me. I walked faster. He swam faster to keep up and finally I just stopped walking.

"What?" I asked.

"I am making sure you get back alright." was all he said. I sighed and walked on. I reached the pathway up to the house and turned to go up it.

"Nixie?" He said. I turned; he was at the edge of the water. His long black tail stretched out behind him. His black hair was sticking to his pale skin. "Take this." He threw a black pouch, I caught it and I left without another word.

When I reached the house I put my crown into the bottom draw of the dresser and changed into dry clothes. I lay down on my bed. Well it went better than I thought it would. I didn't really think it would go so well. I guess my father understood that there was nothing he could do. My mother on the other hand, well I don't think I'll be hearing from her. I opened the black pouch and found it full with coins. I got an idea; I left the house and walked up the hill to the town.

The streets were quiet because it was a Sunday; most people did their shopping on Saturday. I went into a shop and looked at the hair pins. I picked out two with pearls on them for Pearl. I bought them with the coins in the pouch and then I went to the sweet shop. I filled up a bag with lots of different types and paid. I left the shop and saw James standing outside the ribbon shop. He was leaning against the wall looking out around the street. I walked over to him; he saw me coming and straightened up.

"You were looking for me yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes, I-I was. I came to apologise for my behaviour during our walk. It was inconsiderate and un-gentlemanly." He said looking at the ground.

"I forgive you."

"Thank you so much. Can you wait here for a moment?" He disappeared into the shop before I answered.

"Nixie, What are you doing in the village? Are you here with Hanna?" A familiar voice said. I turned around and saw Zale.

"Hello, no I came on my own." I said and the shop door opened behind me. I turned around and James was standing there holding a very large boutique of red flowers.

"These are for you." James said holding out the flowers to me. My mouth dropped.

"Oh wow, thank you. They are beautiful." I responded after a moment of shock. I took them; the smell was strong and sweet. They were wrapped in some fabric because the green stems had thorns. The petals were silky smooth.

"Can I walk you home?" James asked.

"Sure." I replied

"It's alright I'll walk her, I'm going home anyway." Zale cut in. James and Zale exchanged glares.

"Alright then." James finally said.

I said goodbye to James, Zale and I walked back to the house. He didn't say much on the way back but kept glancing at the bunch of flowers in my arms. When we got back to the house Zale went into his room without another word. Hanna got me a vase to put the flowers in.

"You can't just forgive him if he gives you flowers." Hanna said as I put them into the vase and set them on my windowsill.

"I forgave him before the flowers." I said. She frowned and left the room after stealing a few sweets from the bag.

I went to bed early that night. That was the end of day eight, only twenty two more to go.


	9. Chapter 9

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.9**

Day nine:

My dream last night was a bad one, I was dancing on the beach with a James, the sun was high in the sky and there was a nice cool breeze on the beach. James then disappeared and I was dancing with Zale. Zale leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes; suddenly Zale wasn't holding me anymore. He was on the ground, and Seth was standing over him fists clenched. His tail was gone, in its place were legs covered in black trousers. Zale got up and Seth lunged at him, I tried to grab Seth to pull him back but James pulled me away from the fight. I woke up screaming.

My bedroom door opened and Zale stopped in the doorway after seeing I was in bed. He looked around the room with alarmed eyes. I heard footsteps in the hall and Hanna appeared behind Zale.

"What happened?" Zale asked.

"Bad dream." I said pulling the bedcovers up further.

"You scared me." Hanna said pushing Zale out of the way. She sat on the edge of the bed. "You want to talk about it?" I shook my head.

"Are you okay?" Zale asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"Good." He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Hanna pulled the covers over her and got into the bed beside me.

"We are going to the lake today, for a picnic." She said happily. "We go almost every Sunday."

"Who are we?" I asked.

"My parents, Zale, you, me and Elena." She replied, frowning at the last name. So I was finally going to meet Elena. I wondered what she was like. I got up and went to wash. Hanna left to do the same. It was exciting to go for a picnic with everyone at a lake. Maybe it was connected to the sea by a river. After washing I put on a dress, the red one. I felt comfortable in red, almost like I was back in my red tail again. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I called as I began to tie up my hair. The door opened and Zale walked in. He smiled and walked over to the dressing table where I was sitting.

"Leave your hair down." He said taking my hair from my hands and letting it flow down my back. "It looks even more beautiful when it's down." I felt myself blush. Zale cleared his throat and handed me a small cylinder shaped object. "Eh, Hanna asked me to give this to you. She said keep it."

I opened it and saw it was red lipstick, just like the one she put on me on my first day here. I began to apply it, Zale was watching me. I stopped and I raised my eyebrows at him. He looked away and quickly left the room. I finished applying the lipstick and put it in my bag, along with the pouch of money.

I went into the dining room and had some toast for breakfast, along with some tea. I continued into the kitchen and helped Mrs Evans prepare sandwiches and food for the picnic. After we finished she thanked me and we loaded it into a basket. It was lunch time by the time everything was loaded into the carriage and everyone was ready to go. Zale took my hand and helped me into the carriage before going to sit up front with his father. The two horses were both a light sandy brown colour. They were tied to the carriage with black leather straps. We set off up the hill and through the village.

The carriage stopped and the door opened. A women with blond hair and blue eyes was standing there, Zale jumped down and helped her into the carriage, before closing the door. She was wearing a light blue dress. She was beautiful, with an oval shaped face and rosy cheeks.

"Good afternoon Elena." Mrs Evans said with a bright smile. She moved over to make room for her and Elena sat down beside her.

"Who is this?" She asked nodding towards me.

"A family friend, she will be staying with us until the wedding." Hanna said.

"Zale didn't mention her." Elena said, talking as if I wasn't there.

Mrs Evans and Elena chatted until the carriage stopped. Zale opened the door and helped Elena out first, then his mother then Hanna and then me. His hands were comfortable and warm. I let go of them when I got onto the ground. Looking around I saw there were fields everywhere, down a small hill was a large deep blue lake with a few small islands in the middle that were filled with trees. There were some rowing boats floating on the lake and some were tied along the bank. There was a forest on the other side of the lake.

Mr Evans and Zale carried the picnic baskets and the picnic blanket down to the lake side. There were a few other families out for picnics. The weather was calm and warm. We walked down to the lake and found a nice spot under a large tree to set the picnic blanket on. We all sat down and Mr Evans poured everyone a glass of white wine. It had a nice aroma of fruit and a sweet taste. I sipped at it for a long time as I chatted to Hanna.

"I suggest we throw Elena into the water." Hanna whispered.

"That's not very nice." I giggled a shook my head.

"Neither is she." Elena muttered under her breath.

I shushed her in case Elena heard, but she was too busy discussing wedding plans with Mrs Evans. Zale stood up and asked Elena if she wanted to go for a walk.

"No, Zale I am discussing the plans for _our_ wedding. I don't have time for a walk." Elena snapped. Zale sighed and went to sit back down.

"Zale, take Nixie with you." Hanna suggested. Zale smiled and nodded before reaching out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up off the picnic blanket. Elena gave me a dirty look. Zale didn't notice, we let go of each other's hands and began to walk along the grassy banks of the lake. I was looking out at the water when my foot hit a stump of grass and I tripped. Zale caught my arm.

"You really do have the natural grace of a gazelle don't you?" Zale grinned.

"A what?" I asked having never heard of the word.

"It's a very graceful animal." He laughed.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Yes."

"You should see me in the water; I would say I'm even more graceful in the water, than you are on land." I said proudly.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked with a smirk on his face. He took a small step towards me.

"You wouldn't." I dared. He took another step towards me. I turned and ran. I heard him running after me, he grabbed me by the waist and I let out a playful scream. He seemed to have lost his balance because before I knew it he was on the ground and I was on top of him. He rolled me over so that he was on top of me. We were both laughing as he scooped me up off the ground into his strong arms. He ran towards the water.

"No, no, no!" I screamed through my giggles. I threw my arms around his neck. If I was going into the water then so was he. I clung onto him tightly and I heard his feet splash into the edge of the water. He stopped running and let go of me for a second before grabbing me again. I screamed and he chuckled.

"No please don't." I shouted into his neck. "This is a good dress." He turned around and brought me back to the shore. He set me down on the grass and sat beside me. I could see that everyone under the tree was looking over at us; Elena and Mrs Evans looked angry, Hanna was looking pleased with herself and surprisingly Mr Evans was smirking behind his newspaper. I lay back on the grass and waited until my giggles subsided before sitting back up again.

"I'll get you next time." He threatened with a grin. I mock punched him in the arm. He rubbed his arm pretending it was sore.

"Elena seems nice." He looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"Nice is not exactly a word I would use." He said.

"Don't you like her?" I asked

"Well let's just say my parents want me to marry her. Maybe we would get along well if we spent more time together. I do try, I really do but she doesn't want to spend time with me." He sighed. I nodded and we sat in a comfortable silence for a while. We gazed out at the dark blue water.

"Have you ever seen a mermaid?" I asked.

"I have, a few times." He sighed before continuing. "There was this one mermaid I saw when I was about fourteen. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She had turquoise hair like yours but it had these shiny golden streaks in it. It felt like my heart stopped when I looked at her. I asked her if she wanted to dance with me and she said yes. But she was pulled down into the water before we could. I don't think I will ever forget her." He said with a sad smile on his face. My heart began to beat faster. He looked at me with his sad green eyes. "Have you seen a mermaid like that?"

"No" I lied avoiding his gaze. "What would you do if you saw her again?"

"If I was asked that question two weeks ago I would say that I would never let her out of my site, but now I'm not so sure."

I stood up. "It's probably time for the picnic." I held out my hand to help him up. He took it and stood up. We walked back to everyone and they were dishing out the food. I had a few sandwiches, then some chicken and carrots. It tasted even better out in the fresh air.

Hanna asked me to go for a walk after we all ate. We walked around to the other side of the lake, we reached the forest, it looked dark and all the trees were growing close together. The branches were thin and low. The whole forest looked very dense and dark. It reminded me of one of the sea forests in the ocean. I got lost in it a few months back and Seth had found me. Sometimes I wish he hadn't.

"Nix?"

"Yea?"

"Have you fallen for my brother yet?"

"Don't be silly."

"I'm not being silly. That's twice now I saw you two in a compromising position."

"Twice?"

"Don't forget the library."

"Oh"

"Am I right?"

"Not even close"

She gave me a knowing look before she walked ahead. I walked slowly behind her. When we got back to the picnic blanket everyone was packing up. Well everyone except Elena she was sitting under the tree fanning herself. Hanna and I helped with the last bit and then we headed back in the carriage. We left Elena at her house before continuing on back to the house. It was very late by the time we got home and after helping to clean the plates and cutlery I headed off to bed.

I lay in bed thinking about Zale. He seemed to be the boy I wanted to dance with on the beach all those years ago but James had also said that he saw a mermaid. I would have to ask James what she looked like. I fell asleep after a long while. That was the end of day nine, only twenty one more to go.


	10. Chapter 10

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.10**

Day 10:

I woke up having had the same dream. It was getting tiresome I barley gave it a second thought before getting up and going to wash. After washing I got into a shirt and skirt, and headed into the dining room. The table was filled with food. Charles had come in early today and prepared lots of food for breakfast. I ate my fill and went into the library.

I began reading a book but soon got bored. My mind wandered and thought about what it would be like to work, in a shop or something to earn myself some money. I wouldn't have to rely anyone else for money. There wasn't really anywhere to work was there? There was a bell sound that rang thought out the house. That was the doorbell. I didn't hear anyone moving to get it so I go up. I opened the large wooden door and found standing James behind it. His brown hair looked a shade lighter in the sun.

"Ah, just who I wanted to see." He smiled. "Would you like to accompany me on a stroll on this beautiful morning? This time I will keep my hands to myself. I promise."

"Excuse me?" A male voice said from behind me. I turned around to find Zale was standing there his eyebrows narrowed at James.

"Eh, nothing." I said perhaps a little too quickly.

"Where were your hands?" Zale pushed past me towards James, causing James to take a few steps back and put his hand out in front of him.

"Calm down." James said.

"Is that why she got lost in the woods last time? You couldn't keep your dirty hands to yourself. Could you?" Zale grabbed the front of James' shirt.

"Watch your tongue." James snarled pushing Zale off him.

"Stop it." I rushed out the door and grabbed the back of Zale's shirt. I pulled him back and jumped in between the two. I put a hand on each of their chests, keeping them away from each other. Their chests were rising a falling quickly.

I turned to Zale "It's none of your business." then turned to James "Yes, I would love to go on a walk." Both of them stepped away from each other and I warily dropped my hands.

James turned around and walked to the gate, I followed. Instead of heading left to the forest we walked down the road to the right, it ran along the shore and on towards some hills in the distance. We chatted about the last few days and I told him about our picnic at the lake. He said he sometimes goes there on a Sunday too with his family.

"Did you hear the ball was postponed until the Saturday after next?" He said as we followed a small trail from the road onto the beach.

"Yes I did. Hanna was quite upset." I replied.

"Well it was postponed for the village fair. There will be lots of different events on, will you be attending?"

"Oh that sounds nice. Yes I would love to attend."

He smiled and sat down on some rocks by the water. I sat beside him and looked out at the blue sea. I could see dolphins in the distance, most likely Bubbles keeping close.

"There have been a lot of dolphins hanging around lately." James said looking out at them jumping around. I nodded in agreement. I spotted a pretty blue shell lying at the edge of the water. The waves were sweeping over it threatening to drag it back into the sea. I picked it up before the sea engulfed it and a wave splashed some water on my wrist. My trident mark appeared with the splash of water. I dried the water off my wrist onto my shirt before James saw it. My trident mark disappeared again when my wrist was dry. I sat back down and examined the shell.

"What is it like working?" I asked. James looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't really know how to describe it. Work is work, why do you ask?"

"I'm just kind of tired of sitting around with nothing important to do."

"Would you like a job?"

"Yes I would like to experience it."

"Well then, tomorrow eight thirty in the morning at Walsh's Ribbons. Oh and tardiness will be frowned upon." He grinned.

"What? Do you mean work in the ribbon shop?" I said surprised at the offer.

"Yes I think you would be very good at it and we pay well."

"Oh my, thank you, thank you. That is fantastic." I squealed as I threw my arms around his neck. He chuckled and hugged me back. We began walking back to the house. He took my hand in his, my hand felt small in his, it was nice a warm. I felt myself blushing. When we reached the gate he kissed my hand gently.

"I think its best I leave you here." I agreed thinking back to earlier, we said goodbye. I grabbed a bit of lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon deciding what to wear to work. I heard a knock on the door. I called for them to enter and Hanna walked in.

"What are you doing?" She asked eyeing the pile of clothes on my bed.

"James offered me a job, at the ribbon shop! I'm so excited, will you help me decided what to wear?"

"What? You can't get a job, especially not with him." She said angrily.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"You are a princess that is your job! And what about my brother?"

"I'm not a princess here. What about your brother? He has a fiancée stop trying to ruin that with your silly schemes. Also James is a nice man."

Hanna just glared at me before turning on her heal and slamming the door behind her. What was wrong with her? It is my choice if I want to work, not hers. What did she have against James? She was beginning to give me a headache.

I decided to walk down to the beach to clear my head. Bubbles swam over to me and cheered me up. He thought it was a great idea I was getting a job. I asked him to tell my parents I was well but to leave out the part about the job. He promised to and then we sat together sharing news. I began to get hungry and realised it must be nearly dinner time. I gave him a pet on the head and ran back up to the house. The dinner table was quiet and full of tension. Neither Zale nor Hanna said a word to me.

"James Walsh offered me a job in the ribbon shop in the village, I decided to take it. I start tomorrow." I said to everyone at the able.

"That sounds nice." Mr Evans said nodding in approval.

"But-" Zale started but one look from his father shut him up. Mrs Evans said nothing. I excused myself early and went into my room to finish deciding on what to wear. I had an early night so I would be refreshed and ready to work in the morning. That was the end of day ten, only twenty more to go.


	11. Chapter 11

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.11**

Day 11:

Again the same dream. I rose earlier than usual so I would be on time for work. I still couldn't believe it; this would be a great experience. In the water I would never be allowed work. I was really beginning to enjoy the land, I would miss it. I changed into my cream dress and went to the kitchen hoping I wouldn't run into anyone, especially Hanna.

The dining room was empty and I strolled on into the kitchen and found Mr Evans by the cooker. The pan was sizzling loudly. I wasn't expecting him so I jumped slightly, he didn't seem to notice.

"Would you like some eggs?" He asked without turning.

"If it's not too much trouble."

"None at all."

I sat down at the table in the kitchen and Mr Evans set a plate of eggs in front of me. I buttered myself a slice of bread and dug in. Mr Evans sat down and ate his breakfast while reading the newspaper. We ate in silence until I was finished.

"How are you finding it here on land?" He asked taking a sip of coffee.

"I like it very much; I will miss it when I go back."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Do you miss the sea?"

"Yes I do its strange being away from it. I have only ever turned into a human once before. I was only nine and I wasn't allowed to experience life on land like I am now." I looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was eight. I cleaned up the plates and I grabbed my bag before heading out the door to go to work.

I looked out at the sea. It looked calm and quiet this morning, almost too quiet. The air was calm too. The sky had a few clouds and a there was a chill in the air. I walked on into the town and to the shop. There was a closed sign on the door. I knocked lightly on the door, unsure as to where I should enter. I was five minutes early, were they here yet?

I waited unsure for a moment, the door opened and Mr Walsh beckoned me inside with a welcoming smile. I looked around the shop, it looked the same as the first time I entered it. The walls on the left were filled with ribbons of all shades and colours. There were shelves on the left full of hair clips, slides, bands and all sorts.

I followed Mr Walsh through a light wooden door into the back behind the counter. To the left was a set of stairs that led to the upstairs level. I walked on down into a kitchen, with a back door to the right. There was a cooker and a teapot was sitting on top of it, a misty trail of steam coming from the spout. There were a few cupboards by the far wall and a table with some sturdy chairs in the middle of the room. I placed my coat on a hook by the door and placed my bad on a chair. Mr Walsh poured me a cup of tea and told me to wait until James got there; he said James would explain what I had to do. He disappeared back into the shop.

I sipped my tea slowly and relaxed, after about ten minutes the back door opened and James appeared. He kicked the door closed behind him and put his coat on one of the hooks before sitting down beside me.

We exchanged formalities while he poured himself a cut of tea. He then began explaining what my job would be. I would be a sales woman, show the customers the ribbons and other hair accessories and help them pick out which ones went with their skin colour, eyes, hair, dress. Basically I would persuade people to buy them. He said I would also have to do stock checks and run some other errands and things.

The more he spoke the more excited I got about working there. The job sounded really run, also I wold get to interact with lots of different people and as a princess who was one of the heirs to the throne of the North Atlantic ocean I really loved interacting with people.

After a small briefing I was given a name tag and we went into the shop. I stood by the counter and within five minutes I had my first customer. She was a beautiful tall young woman with big blue eyes and straight bleach blond hair that flowed down her back. She went over to the ribbon section and began looking at the blues. I walked over and offered some help. She gladly accepted saying that she was pleased there was finally a woman working in this shop and that although the men were great sometimes a women's opinion was needed. I smiled in understanding.

She wanted a ribbon for to tie at the back of her dress because the one she didn't like the one she had. We looked through the ribbons and I found one that was the right colour and thickness. She was pleased. I cut it the right length. I then showed her a crimped ribbon that would look beautiful in her hair. I tied up hair with it and showed it to her in a ribbon. She smiled, liking how it looked. She decided to buy it. She took the ribbons to the counter and I went to help another customer.

The morning flew by quickly and so we closed up shop for lunch. James took me to lunch. He said I had done very well and that I seemed to be a natural at talking to people and helping them. I told him I loved talking and interacting with people. I mentioned that I would have to be good at listening and dealing with people in the future. He asked why and I stuttered before saying it doesn't matter. He dropped the subject but gave me an odd look.

We went back to work and the rest of the day flew by, when they closed up the shop I went to get my bag and coat. When I returned to the shop I was handed an envelope by Mr Walsh. He said it was like commission on what I had sold and that he would pay my full wages at the end of the week. I thanked him and James offered to walk me home. I accepted his offer and we walked back to the house. He said I could work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays if I liked. I said that would be great. That meant I would have two more days of work this week and then it would be the weekend. He took my hand as we walked and when we reached the house we said goodbye and he kissed my hand again.

I walked into the house. Mrs Evans was in the kitchen with Hanna, and they were cooking dinner. I offered to help but Mrs Evans said too many cooks would spoil the broth. So I went into the library where I found Zale sitting behind a large white canvas. He looked up when I came in. I moved into the library and he grabbed the canvas in a panic and held it close so I couldn't see it. He manoeuvred out of the room, hiding the canvas as he went.

I sighed, was everyone going to avoid me? It's just a job and it makes me happy, why did they all disagree with it? I went over to the paints and brushes that he had left sitting. The paint brushes sat in a glass of murky brown water. The colours were sitting on a palette. He was using blues, blacks, creams, reds, oranges and gold's. I wondered what he was painting. I heard the door opening and I turned, it was Zale.

"Sorry about that, I just done like people see what I'm painting." I smiled relieved that it wasn't my company he was running from. He packed up the paints and the paint brushed and put them in one of the cupboards.

"You can go back to painting if you like."

"No it's alright dinner is ready now anyway." He said and we walked into the dining room and sat down. Mr Evans joined us at the table and asked how my first day of work was. I was pleased that finally someone wanted to hear about my fantastic day. I told him all about it as we ate dinner. He seemed to enjoy hearing about it.

After dinner I went to my room and arranged my clothes for the next day. I went to bed feeling quiet lonely; despite the fact that Hanna did drive me up the wall at times I really did enjoy her company. I fell asleep after a while and that was the end of day eleven, only nineteen more to go.


	12. Chapter 12

**I want to dance with somebody Ch.12**

Day 12:

I was running away from something or was it someone. My hair was flowing out behind me in the wind and my feet were moving swiftly over rough ground. I kept my eyes on the ground and avoided the rough terrain as I ran. I felt the need to look behind me. I glanced back at man in dark robes that seemed to be chasing me. I kept running, until I reached the edge of a cliff. I stalled for a second before making up my mind. I jumped, and flew closer and closer to the rocky water below as each second past. I woke up with a start; I shook my head and got up. I went about my usual routine, trying to forget the dream.

The kitchen was empty; I decided to cook for Mr Evans as he was kind enough to cook for me the other morning, within five minutes he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning" I said as I tried to turn the eggs. I didn't break on me, I smile proudly.

"Good morning, excited for your second day of work?" He asked.

"Yes, I hope it goes as well as yesterday. We are getting lots of business because of the dance coming up." I replied placing the eggs and toast onto the plates. I handed him a plate.

"Thank you, you didn't have to." He said taking the plate and digging in. We chatted and then I set off for work.

The air was still this morning but slightly warmer than the day before. I set off over the hill and into the town. The door to the shop was close and the same sigh was hanging from the window in the door. Unsure I headed around the back of the shop. I saw the door to the back entrance and pulled the handle down. It opened and I stepped inside.

James was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. He put it down and got up. I took my coat off and he took it from me and hung it up.

"How are you this morning?" He asked as he went over to pour me some tea. I sat down on the chair opposite and took the cup of tea.

"I am well; I keep having bad dreams though." I replied taking a sip. It was very hot so I blew on it and put it down.

"Really, about what?" He asked. I then realised that I couldn't really tell him my other dreams but I supposed that last night's dream was okay to tell.

"I was running from someone, they were dressed in dark robes. I reached a cliff edge and I- well I jumped off it to escape them and then I woke up."

"That is strange." He pondered as he finished his tea. I finished mine as well and we went out to the shop and opened up.

His father didn't arrive until eleven, he seemed in a fluster and he whispered something to James which made James nod stiffly. Mr Walsh then went into the back room and didn't emerge. I was just finished helping a customer when the young woman with blond hair from the day before came in with a group of young women behind her. She saw me, waved and ushered her friends in the door.

"Hello again, after I told all of my friends about how helpful you were the other day they all wanted to come." She said. "My name is Sylvie, what is yours?"

"Thank you, my name is Nixie."I replied.

I helped each of her friends pick out some ribbons and hair accessories for the dance coming up. They bought lots and before they left Sylvie broke free from the crowd of girls and ask me to meet them for lunch at a Café and the end of the lane. I gladly accepted and she gave me a quick hug before setting off with her friends.

I grinned to myself when they left, I had made new friends. Maybe I wouldn't be so lonely if Hanna really stopped talking to me for good. I looked forward to lunch with them. The next hour and a bit flew bye and soon I found myself heading down the lane to the café. I saw the girls sitting at a table by the window waiting for me. I went in, Sylvie waved at me and patted the seat beside her.

I maneuverer around the other tables and sat down beside her. We soon ordered lunch and all the girls wanted to know all about what it was like to work. I told them it felt really good to earn some money for myself. They also asked about France, where I had said I was from. I made up some things about where I said I lived and they seemed fascinated. I felt bad for lying to my new friends but it couldn't be helped. I pushed the guilt down and enjoyed myself. I ordered my lunch and it came pretty fast. Everyone chatted happily as they ate. Sylvie turned to me with a suspicious smile on her face.

"Yes?" I asked warily.

"What do you think of James? He is gorgeous isn't he?" She asked.

"Erm, yes he is quite attractive. He was the one who got me the job." I replied. She nodded and continued to gush about him until we finished lunch. The girl on my other side, whose name was Alice said "Once she starts she will never shut up." and rolled her eyes. I laughed.

When we finished they said we must do this again and I headed back to work with a smile on my face. They were so nice to me, and it wasn't because I was a princess because they didn't know that. I couldn't wait to tell Pearl all about today.

When I returned to work I got straight into re-stocking and checking the numbers. Business seemed to take about an hour to pick up after lunch time, so I got busy with that for a while. A man walked into the shop, he was around Mr Walsh's age and he wore a dark suit and a top hat. He had a stern look on his face and James seemed to stiffen beside me when he came in. James shook himself and stood up, I followed suit and we greeted the man.

"You're father?" He asked without saying hello.

"In the back" James replied. The man strode forward, around the counter and through the back door without another word.

"Who is that man?" I asked James.

"A family friend" He said curtly and picked up a box of hair pins, continuing across to the other side of the room, to stock over there. I finished what I was doing and then put the boxes behind the counter before a customer came in. The rest of the day flew by, the man still hadn't emerged from the back room when we were closing up. James told me to go on home and that he would close up. I moved to go get my bag.

"No, eh I'll get it."

He went into the back room and came out with my bag and coat. I wondered why he didn't let me go in. I left and he locked the door behind me. I waved and he gave me a quick nod before walking quickly into the back room.

He was certainly acting strange. I shrugged and walked back to the house over the hill. When I reached the house I changed my mind and went to sit by the water. I dipped my feet in and I felt a calm come over me, I was home. All my worries seemed to wash away; it didn't matter if no one in the house except Mr Evans was happy that I had a job. It didn't matter that Hanna wasn't talking to me. I was home and felt content.

Small colourful fish swarmed around my feet, tickling my toes. I shooed them away. I called for bubbles and he was there within ten minutes. He nudged my feet and I pet him. We caught up and he reminded me that it was Pearls birthday on Saturday. I nodded and asked if she was around. He went to fetch her as she was not far off.

She popped her head out of the water beside me with a huge smile on her face. She pulled herself onto the rocks beside me and hugged me, getting water on my dress. I scolded her but she just giggled.

"What's new?" She asked.

I platted her hair as I told her about the last few days. She listened with interest before telling me her news.

"Well everyone is busy getting everything ready for your birthday, they are all wondering where you are, lots of rumours going around. My favourite is that you fell in love with and ran away with a rebel merman from the black sea."

"No merpeople live in the black sea." I laughed.

"Seth is getting restless, your mother is on the verge of sending him to look over you, but your father won't let her. I'm bored out of my mind without you." She smiled a sad smile. I returned it and gave her a hug

We chatted for a long time and only stopped when I heard a rumble in my stomach; I remembered I should probably get back for dinner. We said our goodbyes and I ran back up to the house. I threw my things onto my bed and rushed to the dining room. Everyone was sitting down but the food was not on the table yet.

"Why are you wet?" Mrs Evans gave me a strange look.

"Oh, I was down by the water with my guardian and a friend." I said taking my seat beside Hanna who wouldn't look at me. The food was brought in and I ate hungrily. There was an uneasy silence at the table as we ate. Had something happened before I came into the house? When we all finished I excused myself and went to my room.

I spent the rest of the evening absorbed in a book from the library. That was the end of day twelve, only eighteen more to go.


End file.
